Thanksgiving Menu

Since Martini Boy is still incommunicado, I might as well post today’s menu. The wife is working today (hospitals don’t close), so I’m playing grandma in the kitchen. Y’all will notice that this is a decidedly Southern Thanksgiving:

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1.
MammaMel

Lemon Meringue….hmmm

In my family, that is “throw pie”

My grandfather (may he rip) once said to my mother, “I dare you” as she walked into the dining room with my grandmother’s freshly made LMP (from scratch natcherly)….it ended up all over his face. We all learned a very valuable lesson – Don’t ever DARE my mother!!

This Thanksgiving, the dominant debate seems to be about whether or not children in public schools are having religion crammed down their tender wee throats by reading such radical evangelicalism as the Declaration of Independence. As that debate progr…

This Thanksgiving, the dominant debate seems to be about whether or not children in public schools are having religion crammed down their tender wee throats by reading such radical evangelicalism as the Declaration of Independence. As that debate progr…

Damn I love the fried Okra. People in this heathen area (Delaware) make fun of me for going down to the truck stop just to order up a helping. Even though it is mass produced and frozen before just being deep fried.
So, in 3 weeks I’m moving to Colorado Springs. Can I get fried okra anywhere around the promised land?

I was planning to hot-smoke a turkey breast today, but between temperatures in the thirties and a nap after picking the wee wifey up from third shift, it simply went in the oven slathered with Russian dressing and with a Pyrex cup of water for humidity. Nowhere near as tasty, but moist and reasonably flavorful.

This Thanksgiving, the dominant debate seems to be about whether or not children in public schools are having religion crammed down their tender wee throats by reading such radical evangelicalism as the Declaration of Independence. As that debate progr…

Buy a bag of fresh cranberries, throw them in a collender and rinse them off. If any berry looks funky throw it out, or if anything else ended up in the bag, throw it out.

Put them in a small pan, with one cup of water and one cup of sugar. Bring to boil. As they start to pop, turn heat down but keep a light boil going for roughly 5 minutes. Pour into heat resistant bowl and allow to cool at room temp before putting in fridge. Your done.

Dayna is exactly right! You’ve got to go with the homemade cranberry recipe. It is the only way to go and tastes way better than the canned version. For additional zest add a bit of chopped orange and a tiny bit of lemon. Great eating!

I always pre-heat the skillet. South Alabama cornbread doesn’t have an egg either. Fried okra is about the most wonderful thing edible. I made a Key Lime pie for Connie the Short Bus Lady (my “housekeeper”. Not hard at all except for aqueezing a lot of little, bity limes. I loved Sand Mountain tomatos when I lived in Birmingham.

When I was a little fella….and folks that was a L-O-N-G time ago, I was living with my Mom and grandparents at Joe Wheeler Dam in N. Alabama….(we’re talking WWII when my Dad was in Europe fighting the Germans….) We had cornbread with actual chunks of fatback in it…..at first I found it discusting, but grew to love it…..I was maybe four or so…..My Grandpa Hage was Supt. of the dam and I got “preferential treatment” by the locals which amazed lil ol me!
Duke

The very best cornbread is made with home ground cornmeal. My grandfather (who died in ’91) had a hand grater my dad made by poking holes in a sheet of metal with nails, then attaching it rough side out to a small plank. My grandfather grated the dried corn (still on the cob) on it. We used that meal with a bit of flour, buttermilk, soda, baking powder and salt. ALWAYS used a cast iron skillet. Dad melts grease (bacon grease, used to be; not so much anymore) in the skillet, pours the hot grease in the batter, stirs it and then pours the whole thing in the very hot skillet. As noted above, that makes a fantastic crust.

No eggs. No sugar. Amazing with butter. And a fine snack crumbled in a glass with sweet milk. Of course, all this is Appalachian foothills fare. Eastern Kentucky.

Just this weekend, my parents were discussing the cornbread different great-aunts made, identifying it as “sour” or “soda” or “just right”. It all depended on how much soda you put in, and most, they said, leaned toward too much, making it a bit soda-breadish. Better than sour, when there wasn’t enough soda in it to neutralize the buttermilk.